Similar Track Averages: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Similar Track Concept

The theory behind this chart is that there are similar tracks (aka sister tracks) within the NASCAR schedule in terms of banking, distance and shape that a driver may excel at.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

I am prone to look at a drivers performance more recently then over their career. So, this table is sorted by 2008 averages rather then over the length of the drivers career. That stat is still in the table though.

The Tracks

This week’s race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. So, the similar tracks we are going to look at are: Las Vegas, Bristol, Homestead-Miami, Darlington & Dover.

The Similarities

This may seem like an odd combination of tracks. It is the ‘loosest’ of all our are similar track associations. I group these tracks together though based on these similarities: They are all relatively steeply-banked tracks ranging from 20° – 25°’s with Bristol all the way up to 36°. These tracks don’t adhere to the typical cookie-cutter design like Texas, Charlotte & Atlanta. Some are concrete (Bristol and Dover) and some are former flat tracks converted to a steeper banking (Homestead-Miami and Las Vegas). Historically, this group of tracks have worked out well together.

By the way, this table also shows the drivers median finish which I think is better than the average.